Biblical Text: Mark 9:31-37
Introduction
Economist and at first blogger Tyler Cowen developed a cute little routine he called overrated/underrated. His goal in the routines he said what to help the market clear in getting to correct evaluations. The first level fun in it is the fun of popping the ego balloon of those who are riding high, but that is only the sugar hit. The second level fun is that as far as I agree with Mr. Cowen, I can decrease the status gap between myself and the target, at the same time feel surge of status by elevating the truly noble. And if you are as good as Mr. Cowen, those that you say are underrated are at the same time an attack on an implied overrated. You can get you sugar fix, your virtue warm fuzzy and not be called mean all in one claim. When he migrated to an adjacent space and started to do interviews, he brought this little game along. Posing the question overrated/underrated on a variety of people and subjects to the good and great he was talking with and refusing to let them wiggle out.
Part of the frission that makes Mr. Cowen’s game fun is that he makes explicit – status judgements – what his class typically leaves implicit. He is crossing boundaries by making them acknowledge what is at the everyday core of their existence – the scramble for status. If you happen to find your name on or in the daily papers that scramble is a blood sport. But just because we are not out to ruin someone, doesn’t mean that we don’t find the occasional delight in status competitions. Houses, gardens and cars are typical ones. Sports teams also. Instagram is for those who physically look good enough to garner status. Facebook is for gauging popularity outside of beauty. And twitter is for highly verbal to establish and confirm a pecking order. But to be honest most of those status competitions, if not healthy, can be. It is perfectly possible to take joy in the gifts given to another. And after a certain age we all made a certain peace with these.
In our world it’s the kids that haven’t made that peace yet, or even figured out the grounds that they can make it on. The middle school lunch room is the most accurate and efficient status sorting mechanism invented. Every quarter has tests. Every season a potential new sport to master and win playing time. And compared to when I was playing, the fear that if you don’t dedicate yourself to one, by the age of 8, you lose out. Of course a lot of that is just over competitive parents projecting on there kids. Status competition by proxy. We are the ones that don’t trust the teachers to do their job and demand a million tests. The better the number the higher the status. At least for us hyper-competitive sorts. The kids have to pay the bill. Same at it ever was I suppose.
Text
Our text sets up two scenes in juxtaposition. The first scene is Jesus’ 2nd passion prediction. The first prediction didn’t end so well. It ended with Peter rebuking his Lord, and Jesus replying “get behind me satan”. But in between was the transfiguration. An event of the majesty and the glory, so you can imagine that maybe Peter is thinking he just didn’t understand that first encounter, but now everything is right. The Christ, the messiah is someone of high Status. The power and glory that we saw is just a glimpse of what we are heading toward as we make our way to Jerusalem. This talk of cross and being handed over just lingering doubts that must be overcome in the path of victory. Driving out that demon that we couldn’t was just the sign.
But Jesus wanted to teach his disciples. They’d seen the power at the top of the mountain, but now they are walking the valley. And God can be in the valley, just as much on the top of the mountain. “The son of Man is going to be delivered in to the hand of men, and they will kill him.”
Worldly status does not bind God. In fact, worldly status – the hands of men – may be the most effective screen to keep one from seeing God. Caiaphas will become an unknowing prophet – ‘It is better for one man to die, than for us to lose everything.” Pilate will know his innocence, but because he feared the crowd and the threat that it posed to him losing his status, will hand him over anyway. Judas, one of the twelve listening to this, will be the agent, deciding there is more status in 30 pieces of silver and turning in the false messiah. The other 11 will flee powerless to prevent the gears of justice chewing him up. Peter, fearful of losing even the low status of Galilean fisherman, will deny him up and down. Yet through all that, God was working. If I climb into the heights, you are there; if I descend into deepest sheol, you are there. The hands of men – with their status clutching and bloodsports – don’t bind God. “And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
But the disciples didn’t get it, and they were afraid. They didn’t want another Satan episode. So the lesson falls on deaf ears.
But Jesus isn’t done just yet. You can imagine the silence on the rest of the walk. You can probably even visualize the group. Jesus is walking at the front, and probably the entire group of the twelve following a few paces back. Voices low and murmuring between themselves. Low enough so that Jesus doesn’t hear everything. And they eventually arrive back home in Capernaum. But when they get into the house Jesus asks them, “what were you murmuring about?”
But now they are silent. Because they had been carrying on succession planning. If the Lord has this crazy idea that he’s going to die, we need to settle how the power and glory – how the status amongst ourselves – flows. And if you think this is crazy remember this is the movement that has attracted crowds of thousands. And these twelve have performed miracles. Yes, they failed most recently, but maybe it was just that kind. Maybe Jesus won’t use the crowds, but Simon the Zealot, Judas, Peter? It is the leader that has the status. It is that type of bold leadership that could upend the current status hierarchy.
But Jesus returns to his point. God is not bound by the world’s status. In fact the Kingdom overturns it. But it overturns it not by the sword, but by service.
He takes a child and puts him in the center of them. And to truly grasp the meaning of this, you have to understand the status of children in that ancient world. Instead of being the focal point of all action – “its for the children” -as in our day. They were the lowest on the totem pole, technically not on the totem pole, just future possible additions. Even high born children were still children. But Jesus takes the child, hugs him, and says this is what God is doing. This is what the people of God will do. Whoever receives a child – the lowest status you can imagine, the weakest amongst us – receives Christ. And not just Christ, but you are receiving the one who sent Jesus. The Father. This is the mission of the Father, to serve all His children.
The Father – high on his throne and exalted – was not concerned about keeping that. Was not concerned about lowering his status. That is not how the Kingdom works. The Father had his eye on the child. The Father had his eye on the sparrow. That Father knows the hairs on your head. And so the Father sent his son to call his Children. The Father sent the royal prince to serve. The son willingly put aside the glory of the mount, to come down to the valley. And in that state of humiliation would be the servant of all God’s children.
Conclusion
Returning to Mr. Cowen’s game – overrated/underrated. The fun parts are always the overrated answers. The take downs. But the path of Jesus never goes that way. It doesn’t directly attack the status of the world. It gives to Caesar what is Caesars. It doesn’t encourage rebellion or dabble in revolutions – large or small. It would label all such things a stemming from envy, covetousness. Luther’s explanation to those commandments gives us the positive duty to “help and be a service to our neighbor in keeping their house” and “to urge those of the household to stay and do their duty.”
The middle school lunchroom is not the model of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God turns the world upside down in two ways. First, what status you have, comes from and goes back towards service. The Father is the source of all being. Nothing was created without the son. Nothing continues to exist without resting upon the Spirit – in whom we live and move and have our being. And from that original service of lending his being, into an erring world the Son cam and has redeemed and the Spirit proceeds and havecalled a new creation.
The second inversion is the removal of our limitations. We see scarcity of status. We see only a few greased poles worth climbing. And we think God is only at the tops of those. Climb the mountain and we see God. Get status and we partake in the divine. Jesus reminds us that in the face of the child. In the face of the one in need. In the faces of those we serve, there we see God. God is not bound by worldly status, but is also found in places lowly.
Jesus’ answer is that we underrate his entire world. His entire creation is good. Out of the love he has served us with first, we turn and serve our neighbor – regardless of status. Amen.